Comment by Richard William Ineson on August 11, 2011 at 13:13

A great tune and well performed, nice to hear a new tune in the old fashioned manner, reminds me of 'Morley's Minor Jig' and 'A Banjo Frolic'. The banjo is fabulous.

Comment by Jody Stecher on August 11, 2011 at 13:57

Thanks for the kind words, especially about the performance which was wide of the mark. I didn't have time for lots of takes so I posted the second attempt, even though the later parts of the tune were botched, because I was so pleased with the banjo. The Morley influence was conscious. I plagiarized or paraphrased Parke Hunter too.  Another influence was several favorite kaiso/calypso songs from 1930s Trinidad. Measure 33 is a  trademark Earl Scruggs rhythmic phrase which I turned back 50 years by mating it with a Morleyesque left hand positions. Just a little musical joke.

Comment by Jody Stecher on September 16, 2011 at 2:32

Thanks, Bill. The "dots" are posted in the *photos* section of this website.  I hope you do learn it.

Comment by thereallyniceman on September 16, 2011 at 7:22

Yes, come on Jody, get the Stecher-Stefanelli out again and give us another video. We all like to see how it really should be done!!

 

Ian

Comment by Neil Angus Goodwin on October 16, 2011 at 0:48

Bravo, applause, whistle

Comment by thereallyniceman on November 22, 2011 at 18:46

Every time I watch this video I am always impressed by the quality of Jody's playing. Every note in the piece is played as importantly as every other. When I am playing, notes often seem "thrown away" in the struggle to reach the end!!  How long does it take to "feel" the music like this Jody?

I also  like to watch how Jody moves with the piece and this is particularly noticable in the Maestoso section around 1.40 in.

Play us a few more Jody. You make it look so darned easy!!! 

Comment by Jody Stecher on November 23, 2011 at 0:49

Thanks, blush, shuffle. As I've said before i don't think I'm playing very well in the video, i was just displaying the new banjo and the new tune. However Ian has hit the nail on the head when it comes to my intention which is to make every note count,   especially if I don't play unintended notes. This is the method and the credo of Earl Scruggs by the way.  The story goes that when JD Crowe was a small boy his dad would take him to the TV station (or maybe it was radio) to watch Flatt and Scruggs do their pre-dawn live broadcast. The musicians got used to seeing the little fellow there and one day Earl asked JD if there's anything he'd like to ask. Well there was. "How do you get your notes to sound like they're a mile apart"?  The answer was something along the lines of " I don't know. I just try to make every note count".  I've been inspired by that story for a very long time but I can't always implement the lesson.  I also can't always make videos. Especially right now as I'm down in San Diego for a week-long Thanksgiving get together with my wife's many sisters and their families.  I've got no banjo or video camera with me. What *is* nearby is a shop that has a Van Eps 5 string banjo (Buffalo Brothers). With luck I'll be able to get over there and try it out.

Another reason I can't always make videos is that the process is disagreeable at best and downright painful at worst.  I'm an introvert you see.

Thank you for the request. I'll see what I can do after I get home.

Comment by Alan Sims on February 10, 2012 at 15:10

lovely composition mr Stecher .the banjo looks a work of art .

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